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Tuesday, 22 July 2014

Laser Eye surgery Review

So, let me explain why you've not seen a few posts for a while! Two reasons - a very long trip away to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast (so lots of photos going to be popping up from there!) and also because I've had laser eye surgery so couldn't wear makeup for a week before and a week after. So in celebration that I can now wear makeup I have piled it on!!!

But, for those of you considering laser eye surgery, I've put together a Q&A so you can see how my experience was. I want to give you guys an idea of how it is, because it was absolutely life changing.

What is Laser eye surgery?A quick operation performed by a laser on the eyes that permanently corrects vision for those who wear glasses or lenses.Where did I go?

I got wavefront Lasik from Optical Express on Shaftesbury Avenue, London. It's a nice clean central clinic with friendly capable staff. I would recommend this clinic.

What was my prescription-2.50 with an astigmatism in both eyes.

What Laser surgery did I get done?
There are various options, the most common are Lasik and Lasek. Lasek requires a one week recovery period and is a lot more invasive though much cheaper. I refereed to pay more for less invasive Lasik which has just a 1-2 day recovery period.

There is normal Lasik and Wavefront Lasik. Wavefront Lasik is another £1000 (at least) and uses more advanced technology giving you more than 20/20 vision whereas normal Lasik will give you just 20/20.

My pupils were too large for the standard Lasik procedure so I had to choose Wavefront Lasik. I do have better than 20/20 vision, but, when you had poor sight like me, I would have been happy with having just the standard procedure too. So, really, it's up to you.

What was the operation like?

OK, for the squeemish, please stop reading and go down to the next question. You are taken in to the oppoerating room (much like a dentists surgery) and you lie down and look up into bright lights. They clean your eyes and put your hair in a hair net and it's all quite relaxing. The surgeon then puts drops in your eye to numb them. Your vision blurs a bit (as it would even if you were to put normal eyedrops in) but you can still see.

Next, you are looking up into a bright light and you can see the surgeon fiddling above. He applies the eye clamp and this is uncomfortable as you are numb. He then opens the cornea. I'm not going to lie I almost passed out. I couldn't feel pain but I felt him do it - the same sensation as removing a contact lense. Absolutely stomach churning. You then have to focus on the light which is still blurry, then the laser will track you and start working its magic. The laser pulsates only for around 25 seconds. Then the surgeon puts back the cornea and gets to work on the next eye. I almost passed out during the op as I was aware my eye was wide open. It was a lot more traumatic for me than I could have realised and I want you guys to know that.

Results?

As soon as he was finished (I was in 'surgery' for less than 15 minutes in total) I could see (around lunch time). It was still a bit blurry as I had lots of drops in, but I had considerable better vision than before. After I got handed my antibiotics I headed home to rest. The next 3 hours were really uncomfortable with weeping eyes and it was so hard to open my eyelids. I think they were stressed after the operation and closing as a defence mechanism. But magically, after 3 hours napping in bed, I was back to normal and with good eyesight. By the evening, my vision was almost perfect, but my eyes were still very sore from the op and I had to sleep in goggles for a week. But honestly, I only had 28 hours of sore delicate eyes, after that I was back to normal and fine to go to work

Would I recommend it?

This isn't a yes or no answer for me. For me, it was the right thing to do, though it was so expensive (£3200) and the operation was stomach curdling and post op quite traumatic, I still believe it was the best thing in my life. I mean, I can see!!!! Also, my vision is 20/12 which is better than 20/20.

If you're squeemish, it may not be right for you. Or, if you're vision isn't that bad, then it won't be so life changing.

My main reason for getting it done is because I personally hated every second of lenses and glasses. They made me feel insecure and quite tired and they were a pain when travelling which I do quite often.

Conclusion

I am ecstatic with the results and wish I had got it done sooner. If you have any questions please please write them in the comments below and I will try and get back to you. I know it's a scary thing to get done so ask me and I'll give you an honest answer! Hope you found this useful...I'm off to go and read some things in the distance as the novelty still hasn't worn off!